Surreal social guidance film showing the problems of a boy rejected by other children because he is selfish, uncooperative and domineering.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Portafilms
Sponsor: N/A
Audio/Visual: Sd, C
Keywords: Social guidance

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: JayKay49 - - January 13, 2012
Subject: 50 years later...
...bet Johnny is the president of the corporation and has a corner office on a high floor with 2 windows. The rest of them work in shipping and with those glasses, "Puddin Face" is probably an errand boy. Sorry - but ya see, that's the way life works.

Nonetheless a great film, cute kids and I dont see anything bad about the acting... And lucky kids too because if I was there its very likely a "tornado" woulda hit that town...just like it did the town on my brother's train board.

Reviewer: marianne333 - - April 6, 2007
Subject: maybe johnny is sulky
because dad is home washing down martinis and mom is hepped up on little blue pills.
these kids are the same age as I am now wish I had a dollar for every hour we have all spent in therapy
SMILE

Reviewer: Marysz - - May 21, 2006
Subject: Fitting In in the Fifties
A group of children sit on a darkened soundstage and help a grouchy Johnny learn how to be a Smiley instead of a Sulky. In this film, as in so many of the social guidance films of the fifties, being considerate of others was considered the primary social virtue. And being considerate of others means acting in conformity with the group. As Johnny looks at himself frowning in a mirror, the unseen narrator asks, Would you like to be the you YOU would want to play with? Johnny is also referred to as being selfish, and the word selfish is used again later in the film to characterize children who dont try to be nice all the time. But lets look on the bright side. What happens to kids like Johnny today? They get a battery of psychological tests and are put on Ritalin or Prozac. At least Johnnys behavior here was treated like something that could solved by drawing a smiley face.

The idea of an everyday activity being enacted on a sound stage is a common one in these films. For example, theres a kitchen on a soundstage in Practical Dreamer, an entire family surrounded by consumer objects on a soundstage in American Look and a bowling alley on a soundstage in The Golden Years. The filmmakers would say it was strictly a design decision, but it does say something about the times. The stage is a static space without a shred of privacy. Outside of the tight little group in this film, theres nothing but darkness. Johnny has no choice but to try to fit in.

Reviewer: ERD - - January 5, 2006
Subject: Effective film for children in 1956
This 1956 film is effective for its era in teaching children to get along with each other.
I found that the kids choosen were just fine
in this production, and would be easy for the young viewers to identify with.

Reviewer: Steve Nordby - - February 22, 2004
Subject: It's all an act
Spuzz titled his review "Helping Johnny ACT" refering to the bad acting in the film, but I think of the subject matter - how children learn to put on an act - manage how they appear to others so the other will do what you want. This is Goffmanesque ( http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/goffmanbio.html ): film acting in order to show how acting in everyday life works.

The narrator's hand appears to draw pictures of how Johnny appears to the others. Then a mirror appears to bring Johnny to self-reflection, not for the purpose of self-understanding, but for the purpose of getting the others to let him play with them, so he learns the first principle: the smiley face. That only gets him so far. To continue, he must learn to *act* nice and understand the cues of others, so if he forgets his act, he'll get back on script. If he simply does this long enough and tries hard enough "he'll be nice all the time".

Reviewer: Spuzz - - July 21, 2003
Subject: Helping Johnny ACT
An interesting oddity, which veers far off from the typical social guidance film. This features a simple set, just one room is mentioned, some far out camera trickery (The mirror and the chalk board out of nowhere) and 6 of the worst acting kids found anywhere. (Most particularily, the little girl playing 'Susie' The manner of speaking and acting reminds me of "Cindy Goes To A Party' which should tell you something. Although this is a nice try from the norm, the film somewhat bogs down somewhat with the story telling, but bonus points come when Johnny smiles. Is it that hard kid?

Shotlist

Shows the problems of a boy rejected by other children because he is selfish, uncooperative and domineering. Illustrates how the group accepts him back and tries to help him when he shows a desire to be courteous.

01:11:25
CU Girl: "Johnny's rude."
01:11:26
CU Another girl: "...and selfish!"
01:11:28
CU Boy: "He doesn't think of others!"
01:11:30
Third girl: "He won't take turns."
01:15:20
CU Boy looking in mirror
01:15:25
VO: "Would you want to play with you? The you that we see in the mirror?"
01:15:30
Boy shakes his head "no"

Ken Smith sez: Johnny is a jug-eared little brat whose friends won't play with him because he is "selfish" and "always yelling."
This entire film is shot in a late fifties Black Void, as Johnny's five former friends struggle to build what looks like a miniature city block out of cardboard boxes and construction paper. The omniscient, invisible narrator is apparently standing right behind the camera, and the children are not shy in voicing their disapproval of Johnny's behavior. "He said all our ideas were corny," says one. "He wouldn't let anybody else use the blue paint," whines another. "Gee whiz, what a creep!" adds a third.
The narrator-behind-the-camera beckons (we see his arm) Johnny in from the edge of the Black Void and draws two cartoon faces on a convenient blackboard: "Smiley" and "Sulky." "If you want other children to like to play with you, you'll have to be a Smiley, not a Sulky," he warns. He tells Johnny that "learning to be considerate of others is like learning to tie your shoes" and instructs him to put on "a happy, considerate-of-others face." Johnny vows to try, but what if he slips up? The children suggest tapping their temples ("giving him the signal") whenever Johnny begins acting rude, thus helping him remember to be good. "If Johnny keeps trying hard," the narrator concludes, "it won't be long before he'll be nice all the time!"
Very similar in style to Holiday From Rules. In order to simplify synching the on-screen kids' voices with that of the narrator, the narrator apparently stood on the set while he spoke; you can hear the echo. "Cathy's" little brother, who suggests the temple-tapping signal, is obviously retarded.

Danger Lurks
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